Paul, Zenith, and Lilia had already rushed out to the courtyard gate. Paul stood with his mouth slightly open, staring in disbelief at the scene of Philip and Allen facing each other. Several times he opened his mouth as if to speak, only to shut it again immediately—afraid that even a single misplaced word might make things worse.
Meanwhile, Zenith and Lilia were anxiously watching Allen.
The image reflected in Rudeus's eyes chilled him to the bone.
Ever since Allen's identity was revealed, the family had reached a unanimous understanding:
Allen must not acknowledge his biological father.
His background was far too complicated. The eldest son of Philip, lord of Roa City, who had been sent away to the capital at a young age to be raised as the adopted "son" of James Boreas—the head of the main house. And now, he had escaped from the capital.
There was even a bounty on his head.
If he were to acknowledge Philip as his father now, that truth would come to light. He would be in violation of the family's succession traditions—and would be forcibly returned to the capital.
And James—the current patriarch—was all but confirmed to be the one behind the bounty. His goal? To erase Allen, the Philip-born heir who had begun to uncover the truth of his own origins.
That could never be allowed to happen.
We must protect Allen.
If he had never experienced familial love before—then we would be his family.
That had been the Greyrat household's shared, unspoken vow since last winter.
And now—Philip stood less than three meters from Allen.
What do we do?
It was too sudden.
Why was Allen's father here?
Had Allen's identity already been exposed?
Rudeus glanced at Paul and Zenith—both wore the same conflicted expression. They looked like they desperately wanted to say something, but were too afraid that doing so would only draw more of Philip's attention to Allen.
Clearly, they knew why Philip had come. But they had also been caught completely off guard—and now, they dared not speak, afraid a single misstep would doom them all.
Things were already bad enough.
Rudeus swallowed hard and turned toward Allen—
Only to find him still wearing that same relaxed, easygoing smile, as if completely unconcerned about his identity being revealed.
He was still looking directly at Philip, unbothered, calm.
Behind that gaze, smoke and script flickered.
Tell me—if this is just a chance encounter, how deep an impression must I have made on Philip for the system to already grant me a Participation Score?
"Or is it that those two points were already accumulated beforehand, but only now, with the official start of the Tutoring Phase, did the system decide to show them?"
[You don't already know the answer? I've watched you reason through nearly every possible outcome on the way here.]
...True. I did think through most of it already.
But what I care about now is—
Do I get a quest for this? Or will it be like with Paul and Zenith—progress based on natural interaction?
The system's smoky script danced before Allen's eyes, almost as if laughing.
[Emergency Quest Activated: Philip's Trial and Expectation.]
[Six months ahead of schedule, the Host has met his biological father. A shrewd political strategist, Philip was edged out of the capital's power struggle only because James had two more years of groundwork laid before him. One wrong move—and he lost the game.]
[Now he's come to this village. Why? What does he seek?]
[Complete his Trial. Respond to his Expectation. In the web of diverging possibilities, choose the path that is yours.]
Trial (0/2) – Time limit: 24:00:00 | Reward: +10 Participation Points
Expectation (0/2) – Time limit: 48:00:00 | Reward: +10 Participation Points
[Quest Begins.]
Sylphy and Rudeus both stared at Allen, clearly expecting him to panic—but there was no trace of it. Allen simply watched the quest text fade, his eyes sweeping once more across the carriages before returning to Philip.
Just when I was worrying about how to get to Roa and trigger the Tutoring Phase, Philip brings the opportunity right to my door.
A trial, huh? Sounds fun.
Not far away, Philip nodded with a smile—almost as if he agreed that it would be fun.
But for the rest of the Greyrats, the entire world had ground to a halt.
The air was thick with tension.
Yet Allen—standing at the center of it all—seemed unaware of the pressure. He dropped his gaze and lightly took Sylphy's hand, turning calmly toward the front gate.
But the moment he moved—
He felt resistance.
Her palm was slick with sweat.
What...?
He looked down at her in surprise.
Sylphy's reddish-brown eyes were darting about in panic. She was fidgeting with her silken white hair, her eyes flicking nervously over her white dress like she'd just noticed dirt on it.
But the dress was spotless.
Allen blinked, confused. He turned to look at Rudeus.
Same expression.
And just like that—he understood what they were afraid of.
He simply murmured, "It's alright. Let's go."
Sylphy and Rudeus exchanged one more glance, then—tentatively—stepped forward to follow him.
One step.
Then another.
Three meters wasn't far.
Now, all of them stood before the gate.
Paul was contorting his face through a variety of expressions, trying to signal something to Allen without speaking.
Allen didn't look at him. He kept smiling at Philip, serene as ever.
Philip, meanwhile, gave Paul a brief glance—his eyes flashing with comprehension—then turned back to Allen, narrowing his gaze once more into a calm, unreadable slit.
No one spoke.
The silence was suffocating.
Finally—it was Sylphy who broke it.
She blinked. Then, catching Rudeus's subtle cue, she took a deep breath and stepped forward, voice slightly shaky.
"Are you... one of Sir Knight's guests? Hello!"
Philip blinked, eyes shifting away from Allen to look at Sylphy.
And just like that, the thick tension between them all—dissolved.
Rudeus let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Nice one, Sylphy! That's it—just redirect everything. Make Allen fade into the background. As long as he stays invisible, his identity won't be exposed. And that man... there's no way he could recognize Allen. According to what Allen told us, Philip barely even saw him as a child—certainly wouldn't recognize him now, not like this!
Everyone's eyes turned to Sylphy.
She shrank back slightly, feeling the weight of the attention. Her white hair floated faintly against her neck as she stared up at Philip, clearly unsure of herself.
Philip tilted his head, gaze dropping briefly to her and Allen's interlocked hands. Then, with a gentle smile, he reached out and patted her on the head.
"Yes. Your hair color is lovely. What's your name?"
"Th-thank you... I'm Sylphiette."
"Sylphiette? What a beautiful name. I'm Philip Boreas Greyrat. But you can just call me Philip."
"...Thank you, Uncle Philip."
Rudeus exhaled again.
Good. His attention is off Allen. Now all we have to do is wait for a better moment, get Paul and Zenith to align their stories, and we'll be safe.
But just as that thought crossed his mind—
Philip abruptly spoke.
"You're Allen, aren't you?"
He turned and locked eyes with Allen.
And in that moment—it felt like he was peering directly into his soul.